Saturday was the first day I saw TV images of trucks going out with relief supplies and distributing them to the people. I was also a bit surprised to see Blackhawks dumping supplies in various locations. I'm not aware of any deaths, but as you'd expect, it was the strongest and fastest to the supplies who got anything from these air drops. In a couple cases, you saw cardboard cases of HDR's being dropped out the side doors as the chopper hovered over some clearing. In another case, it landed away from an encampment and the crew chiefs were throwing cases of bottled water out onto the ground as fast they could. In the distance, you could see throngs of Haitians running towards them.

Definitely, not the best way to do it. But when you're talking about life and death, at some point, something--anything--is better than not doing anything at all, I guess. I assume that the roads are still largely impassable and that there is a huge shortage of trucks and fuel. Also, it's kind of ridiculous how much security you need to organize the distribution from just one truck. You could see this long cordon of soldiers necessary to funnel the people single file and keep them from rushing the truck all at once, and in that particular occasion, it seemed to work well and even women and children were getting supplies. If that's what it takes for every truckload, though, seems like you'd run out of soldiers really quickly.

Dumping supplies out the door of a helo isn't optimal, but what you don't see is once the young and the strong get the supplies, what do they do with them - I wager a fair amount get brought back and shared with a waiting family, parent, children or someone else who isn't as young or strong. Not every bit of food put out the door goes on some mythical black market. It may sound kind of Malthusian, but if you can't securely feed this many people at once, you may need to drop some supplies in today, get most of them fed, and try to deal with the unrest among (better) fed people. Could this mean that someone who needed food or water to survive didn't get any today? Possibly, and among a population of 3 million its pretty likely. People will continue to die until the response can effectively bring in enough to feed everyone, tha't a fact.

It's impossible to judge the Belgian medicos who bugged out, we can't assess the situation they found themselves in. You can't be scared of the people you are trying to help, at the same time your security force can't make a decision to leave for the night unless its a very serious situation. I don't know the rate of drug abusers in a place like Haiti, but its probably at least as high as in the US, just with cheaper narcotics and cruder alternatives. Drug abusers come out of disasters too, and they still need their fixes, and conceivably a medical aid unit with pain killers might become a target for that, 5 days out from the main disaster. I don't know though...

From what I hear on local news - local stations embedded guys with the 82d -- the crew chiefs dump the stuff out away from the people because if they land and try to unload the chopper gets mobbed by people wanting to get away from where they are. By mobbed, I mean like 50+ people in the back of a BlackHawk, not a real safe situation. So the chopper crews spot an encampment, dump the stuff out a ways as fast as they can, then beat feet.

Once they get vehicles in they will start to truck it in to the camps and attempt an orderly unload.

Something beats nothing anyhow.

I sympathize with the medical team that decided to pull out. I can't imagine a more difficult decision, but it was probably the correct one.

Haiti has a long history of kidnapping, where foreigners are taken by violence and held for ransom by gangs/thugs. I don't think the 'quake would change the facts on the ground.

One opportunistic act by a few criminals could substantially delay or derail the arrival of help for a great many innocents.

Dropping supplies and backing off may not be perfect, but it beats most of the alternatives. Handing individuals water and food takes an incredible amount of time and is totally unrealistic. I know we like to think here in our 'civilized' countries that places like Haiti are filled with nothing but profiteers, but I don't think that is the case. Honore' said much of the looting in NOLA was for things like mattresses to keep Grandma off the ground.

Regarding security: the 'peacekeeping forces' only work during daylight hours??? They couldn't establish a security perimeter around the medical facility? Whose ego was getting in the way THIS time?

As to rebuilding, forget the First World building codes! There are cheap ways to build decent homes that don't involve nitpicking, common-senseless bureaucrats. And the first person to mention flush toilets should be shot, hung and crucified (in any order).

But I'm sure that the rebuilding will involve the most cost, the least sense, the most expensive materials and methods, and the most First World contractors stuffing their pockets.

Sue, who is reaching beyond cynical

Not to mention Sanjay probably has the best health and life insurance money can buy. Easy to take risks when you're a celebrity working for a television network with unlimited resources to take care of you. Sounds more like he put his crew in danger with his showboating than a selfless act of generosity. Production assistants don't make squat compared to talent. But who knows.

I think you're 100% right. Parasites will be coming out of the woodwork for reconstruction contracts. IIRC, at least 50% or more of the money spent on contractors in war and disaster reconstruction zones is lost due to theft, incompetence, waste, etc.

Here's a BBC link giving early first-person reports from some NGO personnel. I thought it was an interesting read.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8458915.stm

Beg to differ.
Send them.
Get a declaration of Martial Law off the Haitian Government & the Airborne can deal with them.

Alright Susan, I'll bite - why shouldn't we consider a modern sewer system and (gasp) flush toilets (or tropical equivalent) for people in Haiti, besides surviving your obvious acrimony and cynicism? Howabout running water? Or electricity? As to building codes, granted they are expensive, but what do bureaucrats have to do with them - do you object to bureaucrats enforcing a building code, or to the distinct possibility that bureaucrats might profit from not enforcing a code? What option do you offer - would you accept that people build their own homes again, and suffer the same devastation after the next hurricane, again? Should Haitians just go back to tossing garbage in the streets and gulleys, and wait for it to wash away?

Basic sanitation is a fundamental precept of modern civilization - it helps prevent disease, and relative to its cost is a no brainer. With the extent of devastation there are no expensive retrofits, its planning and laying pipe. From descriptions it sounds like much of Port au Prince's most impoverished areas are served by open sewers in the streets. the Romans managed this - moving Haiti from the 18th century should be part of whatever plan people develop.